Lovette pleads not guilty to Carson killing

Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., the man prosecutors say killed former student body president Eve Carson, pleaded not guilty on counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, felony larceny and first-degree kidnapping, charges he will face when his case comes to trial Nov. 28.

Lovette’s formal charges were read in Orange County District Court on Thursday, a required step before the trial.

Lovette is the second man accused in the March 2008 murder of 22-year-old Carson.

Judge Allen Baddour ruled that some key witnesses won’t be allowed in the courtroom during the trial. Carson’s parents, who might be called as witnesses, will be allowed in the courtroom.

District Attorney Jim Woodall said that qualification was merely a precaution.

“It’s doubtful her parents would be called,” Woodall said.

Baddour also said he will allow for individual juror selection in an effort to ensure fairness and speed in jury selection, but he said he reserves the right to monitor that decision.

The case’s extensive pretrial coverage prompted the defense to ask for individual selection.

Woodall said he expects jury selection to take four to five days after it begins Nov. 29.

Prosecutors say Lovette and Demario James Atwater kidnapped Carson from her home. They drove Carson in her Toyota Highlander to a bank and withdrew money from her account, authorities say.

Officials say they then shot Carson five times in a neighborhood off East Franklin Street.

Atwater pleaded guilty to the murder and other charges tied to the killing and has been sentenced to life in prison. He faced the death penalty if found guilty in court instead of pleading guilty.

Lovette was 17 at the time of the murder and can’t receive the death penalty.

The prosecution and defense attorney Karen Bethea-Shields disagreed about which autopsy photos and photos from the scene should be shown in court.

The defense contested that certain photos are not necessary and could create prejudice against Lovette, but Woodall said some are essential to demonstrate the layout of the scene where Carson was found.

“I know these are difficult photos to look at,” Woodall said. But he said they are still important.

Baddour said some of the photos would be admissible, but others would not be allowed.

Lovette is also one of two individuals charged in the January 2008 shooting of Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato, who was killed in his off-campus apartment.

The first day of the trial will be a hearing to address whether or not witnesses can bring up statements the defense calls “relevant but more prejudicial than probative” during the trial.

Bethea-Shields wouldn’t comment on whether she was referencing the Mahato case with her request that certain statements be excluded, and Woodall said he couldn’t comment on whether a link existed.

Per request of the defense, the trial will be entirely recorded, except bench conferences.

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